Return of the King

Tuesday September 23rd (wake up session at home):

Bent Over Row (dumbbell)
10kg per arm, x20

Shoulder Press (standing, dumbbell)
10kg per arm, x20

74kg this morning. Right side is feeling more or less alright, no major pain of anything. Cannot wait for tomorrow! The build up to a triathlon is never as exciting as this.

Sunday September 29th: Gladiators Contendor Try-Out

The phone call and email from Gladiators inviting me to try out as a contendor for series two stated that I should arrive at the venue for the London auditions at 9:30am Sunday morning. The tube wasn't working so I bused it and arrived nice and early at approx 8:50am. I squashed the remainder of a banana into my mouth as quickly as possible before rounding the final corner. My fears of being caught on national tv with a mouthful of half chewed banana were baseless as I turned the corner and the most exciting thing I spotted was an overflowing rubbish bin and a few people standing around the sports hall doors. I added the banana skin to the bin and headed for the doors.

There were a number of other hopefuls already lining up, showing their id, invitation letter and signing forms stating that they were happy to be filmed as contributors to the show. I signed my forms, queued inside for about 10 minutes, was given a sticker with my applicant number & group number(1) and told to wait until my group were called. Those of us who arrived early got into group number 1. Those who arrived later were in group 2, and those who were even later still got into group 3.

Then began a long ish time of sitting around watching re-runs of Gladiators series 1 on a portal tv. More and more people arrived, queueing, getting numbers, signing up, etc. Eventually around 10:10am it seems as if the queue has died off and everyone is here. A woman from Shine (the Gladiators production company) stands up, thanking us for turning up, and congratulating us on being chosen out of all the applicants. We gave ourselves a good round of applause.

Apparently for the first series there were 20,000 applicants and 1,500 were called for try-outs. I heard someone mention that this time the applicants were around 10,000 although I'm not sure if that is true. I was applicant #3997 and I saw a few people with stickers around the 6000 mark. I'm not sure how many were called for auditions this time around. I didn't care either as I was enjoying the buzz of being here along with the slight nerves.

The woman goes on to tell us that out of 200 at the Glasgow auditions only 30 passed the physical tests and got through to the interview stage directly afterwards. Apparently the Scots also set the record for the most puking - 25 people! I read online that the try-outs started about a week ago in Glasgow, then Manchester, Birmingham, London (today and tomorrow), and Cardiff (in a few days time). Not sure if there are any other venues. i.e. Dublin or Belfast.

We are then asked if we are tough enough to take on the likes of Atlas, Tornado, Enigma, Spartan etc. Everyone shouts "yeah!", "wohoo!" etc... and the woman makes as if to present the gladiators to us from behind her. People start cheering and getting excited in anticipation. She then admits she is just kidding and they aren't here at all. Hilarious.

The briefing continues. The try out will consist of 7 tests designed to test for all round fitness. People who are successful in the physcial tests will be invited to have a 5 to 10 minute chat (recorded on camera) with a producer. If the interview goes well you may be invited back for the 2nd round of physical tests on Thursday October 9th in London. Those who aren't successful have to leave.

Everyone is then taken together into the gym hall where the 7 tests are to be carried out. We are given an overview of how to perform each exercise, but no clue as to what the marking criteria or benchmarks are. The instructor tells us that they know exactly what they are looking for, so we are not to be dissapointed if we don't succeed as we are all brilliant to have gotten this far anyway(!). We are urged to encourage each other as much as possible and to "get in each others faces" to encourage each other during exercises, as being supportive of team mates is as important to the show as being a lone warrior.

Together the 7 tests will take about 1 hour. Thankfully I was in group 1 which means we went first and didn't have to sit around for an hour or two like groups 2 and 3 respectively.

Group 1 assembled in the ball. We were broken into 7 sub groups. My team had 4 people. Some others had 5. Therefore there must have been between 28 to 35 people in group 1. That means the combined people in groups 1, 2 and 3 was around 100. This 100 were the 9:30am morning session. Another bunch of people were scheduled for Sunday afternoon, a third batch for Monday morning and the final fourth batch for Monday afternoon. So, this means there must have been about 400 candidates for the London auditions over Sunday and Monday.

I was the first person picked for my group, so I got to dip my hand in and pick which event we would start with --> the 80m shuttle run sprints. Before I go any further with my little tale let me take a few minutes to outline the 7 physical tests:

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I had about 2 days notice of what the physical tests would be. I got this information online from an account that someone had written on the Glasgow auditions. Unfortunately that wasn't enough time to have any kind of decent preparation. I decided to play it safe, ensure my right side was fully recovered, save my energy and see what happens on the day.


The 7 physical tests:

1) Sprint 80m (4 x 20m shuttle run):

A 20m lane was measured out on the nicely polished (i.e. slippy) gym hall floor. A green line of tape is stuck at either end of the 20m. Sprint down 20m, touch behind green tape. Do this up, down, up and down. i.e. 4 times for 80 metres. This is timed. Same distance for male and female.

2) Pull Ups: (medium to narrow / overhand / palms away grip):

1 minute time limit, do as many as possible. Start from a hang until told to go, arms must fully lockout each rep. Chin must clear the bar fully each rep. Females to attempt at least one and then hang on for the remainder of the 60 seconds. Guys were to "max out".

3) Medicine Ball Chest Throw (5kg ball male, 3kg ball female):

Kneel on an exercise mat. Hold a medecine ball to your chest. Throw from the chest as far as possible. You are allowed to rock back and throw yourself forward, but your knees must remain touching the mat at all times. There is tape stuck to the floor denoting two separate distances against which they mark you. Females use a different mat and aim for distances which are a bit closer. Two attemps, best one counts.

4) Obstacle Course "The Mini Eliminator"(!):

This obstacle course is laid out in an angular U shape. Start off with a short sprint to a hurdle. Jump and somersault at speed over it (forward roll / head over heels), land on a cushioned mat and keep running. Hopscotch across boxes marked out with tape on a mat (one foot, both feet, one foot), then do the same on the next mat. At the end of this straight is a bollard. Run around it to get to the next corner of the U where there is a basket ball balancing on a low holder. Bounce the ball 5 times (one or two handed), place the ball back on the holder. Sprint back up the final straight, duck under a standard hurdle, jump 5 or 6 mini hurldes (both feet must touch the ground in between each - if you touch any you pick up penalty points), then sprint again before ducking under last hurdle and final sprint to the line. An optional extra (for no additional points) includes crashing face first at top speed into the stage wall situated a short distance behind the finishing line.

5) Long Jump (feet together, standing start):

As with the Medicine Ball Chest Throw there is tape stuck on the floor ahead of you denoting two distances, one further than the other. From a standing start you have to throw yourself forward and land as far away as possible on two feet. If you land with feet apart the measurement is taken from where the rear foot lands. Likewise if your hand touchs the ground. Jump distance is not measured with a tape. You are just evaluated on whether or not you hit either the first or second line, got between them, or passed both. Females have to aim for two lines which are slightly closer to the start point. Two attemps, best one counts.

6) Burpees:

1 minute time limit, do as many as possible. 1 rep as follows = from a standing start squat down, hands down on the floor, kick legs out behind so that you are in a press up position (penalised if legs not extended fully), pull legs back in to squat, jump up in the air and look forward with straight back (penalised if looking down or back bent).

7) Crocodile Crawl:

A 20m lane is constructed of exercise mats taped to the floor. Tape your ankles together with masking tape. Remove runners. Assume the press up position at the start of the 20m, with eblows locked out and toes pointing backwards. Drag yourself forwards using just your arms, whilst maintaining form. Touching knees on the mat more than 3 times leads to disqualification. Males to crawl up and down (40m), females to do just one way (20m).

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The scoring:

I read online about an apparent scoring system per test. I have no idea if this is accurate or not, but here it is:

• 0 points - total fail
• 1 point - bad performance
• 5 points - medium performance
• 10 points - good performance

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My performance:

To qualify for an interview with the producer you need to score maximum or near maximum on all tests. I guess that means at least 65 out of 70. Using this scoring system I reckon I fared as follows:

Sprint - 10 points

I was confident enough with this as the inital test. Good one to warm up on. We had a few minutes to jog, stretch, and the got the blood flowing. I was as fast if not faster than anyone else in my group. Hard to tell really but think I did pretty well here, so 10 points.

Pull Ups - 10 points

I went last of the 4 people in my group. The first guy set the standard with an evenly paced 14 in a minute. He kinda ground them all out slowly as opposed to being explosive at the start. I was suprised he got so many as he looked heavy. Guy 2 and 3 weren't too hot here and both managed around 9 or 10. I was screaming and roaring these guys on in the name of tv show commraderie, but decided to save my breath as the 3rd guy went as I knew I'd need energy if I was going to do 14+ on this one.

My turn, hang for a few seconds then go. In 30 seconds I had done 13 (actually 14 but one was disallowed - not sure but maybe chin wasn't high enough). I was on fire here and knew I could easily do a another few and probably set a life-time pb (actaully looking back, maybe that was a life time overhand grip pb already!) The adrenaline from my team members screaming encouragement was excellent and really added another load to my energy.

So, "ok" I think to myself "30 seconds left and I've already done 13. Let's just hang for a second and take a quick break before repping out another few". The instructor is getting excited too and shouting to go for a least 15 and dosen't know why I'm stopping with 30 seconds left. Some other guys have come over to hold the free standing rack (which was jerking around in the first 30 seconds) and see what all the hulabulu is about.

I hung for a few seconds, took a few breaths, asked and was told there was 20 seconds left. I decided to get myself a better grip before the final onslaught. Schoolboy error! I kinda swung right and left, aiming to get the bar more down into my palm. Instead I lost the grip on one side and fell onto the ground, screaming "Fu<k!!" at the top of my lungs.

I really had the power left for another few on that, to get maybe 16 reps, and time for maybe 18 (althought maybe that was too optimistic). I had felt fine when hanging there, no real burning at the end of pull ups when you know you cannot manage more. I just fell off!

I was in shock after this. I knew I had blown a brilliant opportunity to have thumped everyone else on the pull ups. Still, I reckon I got full marks on it anyway as I caned 13(or 14) in the first half. That kind of adrenaline is impossible to work up when training alone in the gym.

Medicine Ball Throw - 0 points

Maybe I was still in shock from falling off the pull up bar, or maybe I just suck at throwing 5kg medicine balls from the chest. Either way, I totally failed this test. Two attempts - neither of which even made the first line. My technique was probably brutal. Looking back I realise that I should have throw myself forward and landed with a face plant. However, I just leaned back, swung a small bit forward and then threw from the triceps, remaining upright after the throw. Zero points.

With the benefit of hindsight I realise that I should have composed myself more before this test and figured out the technique. At the time I thought I had messed up the whole 7 tests by falling off the pull up bar. In reality I hadn't and probably was probably doing alright up until the medicine ball.

Obstacle Course - 10 points

I did pretty well on this. 2 other guys in my group kicked over bits and pieces, the big guy from the pull ups didn't hit anything but was pretty slow. I won this by a good bit. It is probably the first time I've ever done a running somersault over a hurdle at full speed! Ended up sprinting into the wall which was close behind the finish line. Luckily it was covered with padding. Good fun & 10 points.

Long Jump - 1 point

Like the Medicine Ball Throw, my technique on the Standing Long Jump was bad to non-existant. My first attempt didn't even reach the first line. My second attempt did reach the first line. I've never done this before and it showed. I actually thought I would have done alright on it due to explosiveness & leg power from squatting. I was wrong. The other 3 guys, all tall, got to more or less the second line. 1 point.

Burpees - 10 points

Not much to say about these. I went last of the 4 in my group. There was a bit of a queue here with 2 other groups either doing them, or waiting their turn. Nice time for a breather. Must have waited around 10 minutes, all of which involved lots of clapping and screaming "come on", "push it", "take it up another gear" etc for the benefit of the producer who was standing there with the camera. I have to admit that all this screaming and roaring was a knackering as the physical tests themselves!

I took time off from cheer-leading duties to get my breath back just before my turn. I did fine but have no idea how many I did as it took concentration enough to keep co-ordinated for the full minute whilst spluttering over those standing, screaming and hopping around in front of me.

This is the one test that really got the heartrate up and sweat pumping. I did as well if not better than anyone I saw - keeping a brisk pace and upping it slightly at the end. It is actually hard to increase the speed of these because you cannot alter the pull of gravity (at time of writing) on the downwards part of the jump, and that kind of sets your pace.

So, as I was coming into the final 15 seconds and the big guy starts shouting to "take it up another gear" I felt like shouting back "Ok, Einstein - turn the gravity knob up to 11!". Ok, maybe I didn't ... but you get the picture. 10 points.

Crocodile Crawl - 1 point

In one way my group were lucky as we had to do this last. It was the most feared test. I went last again. The other 3 guys all made it, painfully slow in some cases.

I set off a decent pace and was going fine. Abs started to burn at around the 10m mark (1/4 distance) but I pushed on and got to the 20m mark (1/2 distance & turning point) without touching my knees off the ground once, and with what I think was a fast enough time. I flopped down on my belly in the turning zone and slithered around, as allowed.

Oh oh, my body didn't want to get up again. The next 10m were hell - abs were on fire. I touched knees down once and took a breather for a second before struggling on a metre or so. Knees down again. Struggled a bit more. Knees down again and disqualified. I got to about 3/4 distance (30 metres).

Maybe I should have taken longer when I touched my knees down on the first and second times. That may have given me a few more seconds to recover. I was expecting to at least be able to complete the 40m, and was dissapointed to only get 30m.

The tape wrapped around the ankles of One of the guys in a group before me had come undone and he had cheated by using his legs to push himself along. I wanted to avoid my legs coming loose, so I tied them up about 20 times. It was great whilst doing the crocodile, only problem was I couldn't untie myself afterwards! So there I am, the final contendor crawling around in a pool of my own sweat with my ankles tied together whilst everyone else who has finished is sitting in the middle of the hall floor looking on. I must have sat there for 5 minutes yanking at the tape whilst the runners and producers ran around looking for a scissors! Eventually I was freed and I skulked over to join the rest in the centre of the hall whilst the scorers added the various points together. 1 point.

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Afterwards:

So, an hour has passed in the gym hall and we have completed our tests. We sit in the middle of the gym floor downing bottles of water, recovering and waiting. After 5 minutes it seems as if a decision has been made, sheets of paper have been sifted through and a fitness instructor comes along to annouce the successful applicants who are being invited for an interview: 3 girls (out of 4 who turned up!) and 1 guy. I didn't make it. Those who were successful are clapped. The rest of us are told that we are great, but not great enough. The hall empties quietly.

I decided to walk home the 7 or 8km. I was probably still in shock from the pull ups/medicine ball. Overall it was a great experience. If the scoring system above was correct then I probably got 42 points from a total of 70. Hmmm.

I'm probably going to have nightmares that I'm Indiana Jones running through caves, hopscotching over snakes and being chased by a giantic bouncey boulder Medicine Ball. Well... maybe just until the contendor try-outs for series 3.

To be succesful next time (and there will be a next time) I need to work on the following:

• more core stability work e.g. the plank
• standing long jump technique
• medicine ball throwing technique
• ab endurance. I'll probably get this by doing the crocodile in the gym studio room on the polished floor. I'm probably going to go through a lot of socks in the meantime.
• more sprinting, in the form of shuttle runs i.e. start stop over short distances as opposed to just one long fast run of 800m.
• not letting something from the previous test distract me from the next one

Apparently the tests were slightly different this time from those for series 1. The main one being the abscence of the 800m treadmill run in 2mins 30seconds. The tests I did were only testing you anaerobic capabilties (short sharp bursts of speed and co-ordination), not aerobic (endurance) tests at all.

The standard of other people was nothing special. I heard a few guys talking about how they came 8th and 24th in "Tough Guy" (an endurance competition where you wade through mud, etc). Some other fellow mentioned he'd fought in Iraq. Personally I didn't see anyone who stood out in my hour, probably as I was more concentrated on my own tests. I was suprised that they picked 3 of the 4 girls though. I'd recommend any girl who is decently fit to give it a go as the odds are stacked in your favour.

Success this time around would have been bittersweet anyway. As I type this I'm on a plane heading for Texas (yeeehaaaw!), and would not be in London for the 2nd round of physical tests on Thursday Oct 9th. However, I'm glad I went for it. I definetly learned something about myself and my current limits. It was interesting to "compete" against others from varyious sporting backgrounds: athletics, swimming, football, martial arts, gym bunnies, etc... and those who are just generally "tough" (and come out with things such as "that's just for girls - that is" after each event, even if they totally made a mess of the previous one).

Next time I'll make it...

Until then, at least I've got another 6-12 months to perfect my gladiatorial costume fashioned from tinfoil and elastic bands. I can already see my name in lights.... Ok, maybe not as a gladiator but definetly as a contendor.

AWWWOOOOOOGGGGGGGAAAAAA!

Thanks for the comments all. It was a great experience. I like having specific events to work towards in training & that was the most fun so far. Definetly recommend it! It was like being back in school messing around in a PE hall.

I researched the backgrounds of some of the gladiators in case this info would come in handy for the interview. Some are pretty impressive athletes - at least 3 having competed in the Olympics. It kinda makes me wish I had trained for the decathlon during secondary school and Uni.

Hanley wrote: »

Now that we know the tests, boards.ie gladiator challenge anyone??

Hanley, you are on! :pac: This could be done in 3 ways:

• Book a hall somewhere where we all show up and have a mini comp
• Hold a virtual comp where people submit their times, distances etc...
• (*my fav choice*) Everyone submits homemade photos of themselves dressed up in the aforementioned tin-foil & elastic bands :pac:

Monday October 6th:

Lat Pull Down
50lbs - in front of neck - 3 sets of 10 reps
50lbs - behind neck - 3 sets of 10 reps

Fly (machine)
50lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps

Incline Press (machine)
50lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps

Bench Press (machine)
50lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps

Seated Row (machine)
50lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... bike grip
50lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... ski grip
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Leg Press
50 lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... both legs
50 lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... right leg
50 lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... left leg

Leg Curl
50 lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... both legs
50 lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... right leg
50 lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... left leg

Leg Extension
50 lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... both legs
50 lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... right leg
50 lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... left leg
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Shoulder Press
20lbs per arm - 3 sets of 10 reps

One Arm Row
20lbs per arm - 3 sets of 10 reps

Push Ups (on hand grips)
3 sets of 10 reps
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Sit Ups (rocking cradle)
3 sets of 25 reps

Pull Overs (dumbbell)
10 lbs per arm - 3 sets of 10 reps
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Calf Raise (toes elevated)
bodyweight x20
bodyweight + 20 lbs per arm x15
bodyweight + 30 lb s per arm x10
bodyweight + 20 lbs per arm - 3 sets of 8 reps ... last set flat feet
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Bicep Curl (machine)
20 lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... both arms
10 lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... right arm
10 lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... left arm
20 lbs per arm - 3 sets of 8 reps ... last 3 sets with dumbbells
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Bench Press (dumbbell)
40 lbs per arm - 3 sets of 8 reps

Lunges
20lbs per arm x8 x10 x8

Reverse Fly (dumbbell)
20lbs per arm - 3 sets of 8 reps
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I went to an outlet mall after work to pick up some new training shorts and tops. Picked up Arnie's updated and revised Encylopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, plus some resistance bands and a speed rope. Forgot to bring them to the gym with me though.

The equipment in the gym is in a sorry state of disrepair. The Leg Press shaft seemed to be coated in ice-cream as a lubricant. I spent a good 1hr+ in there messing about. Nothing strenous, just doing bits and pieces. As you can see the weights I was moving were pretty light.... however the state of the equipment (due to rust or something similar) added more resistance!

Thursday October 9th:

Squat
20kg - 1 set of 8 reps
60kg - 5 sets of 8 reps

Bench Press
20kg - 1 set of 8 reps
60kg - 5 sets of 8 reps
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Deadlift
60kg - 1 set of 8 reps
70kg - 4 sets of 8 reps

Pull Over
6.8kg - 5 sets of 8 reps
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Pull Ups (narrow, parallel grip)
50 reps ... as follows:

• 5 sets of 8 reps
• 2 sets of 5 reps

Lunges (oly bar)
40kg - 50 reps per leg ... as follows:

• 5 sets of 8 reps
• 2 sets of 5 reps

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Calf Raise (smith machine, on step)
bodyweight - 3 sets of 15 reps

Bicep Curl (standing, oly bar)
25kg - 3 sets of 10 reps
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Face Pulls
10 kg (or lbs?) - sets of 8 reps

Tricep Pushdowns
10 kg (or lbs?) - 3 sets of 10 reps
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Crunch Cradle
40 (or 50 reps)
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Legendary workout. I took advantage of the 2 free trial sessions at a Bally gym across the room from my apt. The instructor was all keen to sign me up on the spot on a monthly contract. I didn't have the heart to tell him I was only in the USA for a few more days.

I knew he was going to spend about 30 mins giving me a tour of the facilities so I just blurted out the fact that I knew what I was doing and was just here for squats/deadlifting/pull ups ... i.e ... eh... powerlifting :eek::pac:

I could see the cogs whizzing around in his head as he looked over the scrawny leperachan in front of him: "so, eh.. what do you know about deadlifts / powerlifting?" He then told me that if I went over 300 lbs on the squats to give him a shout for a spot. Yeah, right

Anyway, I had a great session. Pleased with the 50 reps on both pull ups and lunges. By the end of the 1.5 hr+ I was pumped enough to make Arnie cry. I started off weakly on the squats / bench / deadlifts but seemed to warm up a bit then. It has been 3 weeks+ since my last proper session and I have not been eating much at all.

Bring on the DOMS :pac:

Saturday October 11th: Resistance band wake up training

1 or 2 sets of 10 reps on each of the following:

• Front Raise
• Lateral Raise
• Shoulder Press
• Bicep Curl
• Tricep Extension
• Squat
• Lunge

Tuesday October 15th: Hotel Gym

Leg Press (machine)
50 lbs x25
70 lbs x20
90 lbs x15
110 lbs x10

Fly (machine)
50 lbs x25
70 lbs x20
90 lbs x15
110 lbs x10
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Pull Down (machine)
110 lbs - 4 sets of 10 reps

Bench Press (machine)
110 lbs - 4 sets of 10 reps
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Bike 45 mins, 300 cals ... started studying again
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Bicep Curl (machine)
50lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps

Leg Extension
50lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... both legs
30lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... left leg
30lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... right leg

Leg Curl
50lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... both legs
30lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... left leg
30lbs - 3 sets of 10 reps ... right leg
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Leg Press (machine)
130 lbs x10
150 lbs x10
170 lbs x10
190 lbs x10

Bicep Curl (machine)
60 lbs - 4 sets of 8 reps
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Ab Crunch
5 sets of 25 reps

Calf Raise (flat feet)
5 sets of 25 reps
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Good session given that the majority of it was on machines.

Saturday October 18th:

Bench Press (incline)
20kg x8
40kg x8
70kg - 5 sets of 5 reps
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Bicep Curl (oly bar)
30kg - 3 sets of 10 reps

Deadlift (stiff leg)
30kg - 2 sets of 10 reps

Power Clean & Press
30kg - 2 sets of 10 reps
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Fly (incline, dumbbell)
7kg per arm - 2 sets of 10 reps

Lateral Raise (standing, dumbbell)
5kg per arm - 2 sets of 10 reps
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Hanging Leg Raise
3 sets of 8 reps
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Ab Crunch (high pulley, cable)
27.5kg - 2 sets of 15 reps

Tricep Extension (dumbbell)
9kg - 1 set of 15 reps ... out of time, so missed 2nd set
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Calf Raise (on step)
3 sets of 12 reps ... did these at home
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